Resilient Floor Surface

ABSTRACT

A resilient floor surface for indoor and outdoor, residential, commercial and sporting applications includes a resilient underpad formed of expanded polypropylene product (“EPP”) and suitable for being laid down directly on the ground or other subfloor surface in a floating arrangement not requiring securing to the ground or other subfloor surface, and a floor covering material applied upon the resilient underpad as a covering for the resilient underpad. The surface covering is of the type suitable for floor surfacings, sport playing surfacings and decorative and sports surface coatings, and is selected from hardwood flooring, synthetic rubber and/or plastic flooring tiles and panels, rubber flooring tiles and panels, laminated wood flooring, residential and commercial carpets, crumb rubber surface coatings, EPDM (ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surface coatings, polyurethane surface coatings and any other suitable coatings. The resulting floor surface is shock-absorbing, sound and heat insulating, waterproof, lightweight, and durable, and is less expensive and easier to install than other flooring systems, due to the elimination of the multiple components required in prior flooring systems.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 10/466,040, filed Nov. 21, 2003, entitled “Resilient Floor Surface”,which claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/CA01/00035, filed Jan.15, 2001, entitled “Resilient Floor Surface”.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an improved synthetic flooring surface for usein indoor and outdoor applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Typical flooring materials for both indoor and outdoor applications arenatural and synthetic materials that can commonly be found and processedor manufactured inexpensively. Such materials have a wide variety ofboth general and specific applications, some of which favor specialproperties of the material. Some of the special properties of suchmaterials deal with the amount of weight which a surface can bear, itsworkability, durability, resiliency, shock absorbency, compressiveproperties and energy dissipation and return upon contact, sound andtemperature insulation, feel or abrasiveness upon contact, slip orrolling resistance, porosity, water, weather and chemical resistance,ease of maintenance, flammability resistance, environmental friendlinessand allergen and toxicity concerns.

Common applications for flooring materials include residential andcommercial flooring surfaces upon the ground and within multi-levelbuilding structures, rooftop plazas, sports and playground specialtysurfaces and decorative or comfort coverings and surfaces. These includemulti-purpose synthetic gymnasium flooring, hardwood gymnasium flooring,synthetic tennis courts, backyard synthetic game courts, safetyplayground areas for children, pool, sidewalk and other recreationalareas, residential and commercial hardwood and laminated wood floorsurfacings, commercial high traffic synthetic and rubber floorsurfacings, residential and commercial carpet and carpet cushion floorsurfacings and rooftop materials. Specific examples of commonresidential and commercial floor coverings include hardwood and carpetfloorings, rubber tiles and panels, synthetic rubber tiles and panels,synthetic plastic tiles and panels, laminated floating wood floorsurfaces, polyurethane coating floor coverings and EPDM(ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surfacing and crumb rubber coatings usedfor playground areas.

One goal of using many of these various materials is to build a suitableflooring surface that is cushion-absorbent, that is, one that is soft,makes the floor comfortable underfoot, protects against falling downinjuries and maintains playability. This is especially applicable forsporting surfaces, such as basketball, racquetball and tennis courts andrunning tracks, but is also relevant to general walking comfort withinany building. Another primary aim is to provide a material thatinsulates against sound and heat transmission. In this way, the flooringmaterial can minimize noise between floors of a multi-level structureand insulate against heat loss to the surrounding ground or air. Yetanother focus is its manner of installation, with “suspended” or“floating” flooring surfaces offering the advantage of not requiringnailing or gluing to the subfloor or other underlying surface. Anymaterial which includes these desirable features must also be suitablydurable for sufficient life, must be inexpensive enough to be commonlyused and must be easy to install and maintain. Many flooring materialsare typically provided in sheet, panel, slab or roll form for ease ofinstallation and maintenance.

Many current flooring materials have several deficiencies in one or moreproperties which make them undesirable. In the case of many hardwood andsynthetic flooring materials, they may lack the resilience orshock-absorbence that would make the material more comfortable forwalking or sports play. They may also require various types of complexsubfloor arrangements for support, such as special frames or beams andmay not be able to hide minor irregularities in the subfloor material.In addition, current floorings may have to be secured to the ground orsubfloor arrangement in a time-consuming and costly manner, which can bedisadvantageous for both installation and later removal for replacement,maintenance or floor switching purposes (such as for alternate sportingevents in a single location). Other floorings simply fail to besufficiently waterproof to be installed directly upon the ground or inother applications where waterproofing is required. In yet otherarrangements, multiple materials are used in a sequential, layered orunderpadding arrangement in a costly and time-consuming attempt toobtain combinations of advantages from the properties of each of theindividual material components. Examples of such materials includerecycled automobile tires, crumb rubber product, sponge rubber, fibrecushion and resilient polyurethane foam. Layered materials mustsometimes be secured together through the use of polyurethane glues orother adhesives, adding to the time and cost of installation.

Thus, there is a need for an improved flooring material having thecombined desired properties of sound and heat insulation, moisturebarrier or full waterproofing and shock-absorbence, which avoids theneed for numerous materials used either sequentially or in othercombinations, which is easy and forgiving to use and maintain, and whichavoids the time and cost associated with complex installation. The largevariety of materials present in the art demonstrate that that such adesirable flooring surface had not been found.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention contemplates a resilient floor surface utilizingexpanded beads of polypropylene (also known as expanded polypropyleneproduct, or “EPP”) in panel, slab or sheet form in varying convenientdimensions and densities as a resilient underpad laid down directly onthe ground or other base or subfloor surface. The underpad mayoptionally be covered by any suitable floor surfacing (such as hardwood,laminated wood, commercial and residential carpet, plastic, rubber orsynthetic rubber tiles), sport playing surfacing (such as gymnasiumhardwood, plastic and/or synthetic rubber tiles and panels) ordecorative and sports surface coating, such as a crumb rubber surfacecoating, an EPDM (ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surface coating, apolyurethane surface coating or other suitable coating. EPP wasoriginally designed and used for several years as a shock-absorbentmaterial in the automobile and packaging industries, in head protectionhelmets and to enhance flotation in the marine industry. However, to thebest of the inventor's knowledge, this material has never been appliedfor the flooring industry as an underpad in panel, slab or sheet form.The material can also be used as a roofing membrane, in combination witha suitable outdoor resistant floor covering material.

The EPP material may be used in any desired hand-portable panel, slab orsheet dimensions, including 4-foot by afoot (120 cm by 180 cm), the4-foot by 8-foot (120 cm by 240 cm) configuration common to standardplywood sheets or in rolls of desired width, such as 12-feet (3.6 m),16-feet (4.8 m), 20-feet (6.0 m) or 24-feet (7.2 m), by any desiredlength. It may be provided in convenient thicknesses such as about⅛-inch to 12 inches (3 mm to 30.5 cm). The invention contemplatesutilizing expanded beads of polypropylene of a density of approximatelybetween about 1.1 to 2.8 pounds per cubic foot (0.018 grams per cubic cmto 0.045 grams per cubic cm) molded into a sheet or pad of open cellstructure with a density of between about 1.1 to 3.5 pounds per cubicfoot (0.018 grams per cubic cm to 0.056 grams per cubic cm). The floorsurface covering may be provided in thicknesses between about ⅛-inch to4 inches (3 mm to 102 mm).

A method for installing the resilient floor surface includes providinghand-portable panels, slabs or sheets of the EPP material underpad,cutting them to the desired configurations, and installing them directlyupon the ground or other base or subfloor support surface, preferablywithout securing the underpad material to the support surface. Theunderpad is then covered with any suitable floor surfacing, sportplaying surfacing or decorative and sports surface coating by spraying,brushing, spreading or other suitable application activity.

Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a resilient underpadmaterial for a flooring surface formed of open cell, molded, expandedbead polypropylene which is cost effective, easy to install andmaintain, waterproof or water resistant, sound and heat insulated andwhich avoids the time and cost associated with complex installation ofprior combinations of materials.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following description, of which the attacheddrawing forms a part.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a resilient, molded open cell,expanded bead polypropylene underpad, with a surface covering disposedthereupon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a cross-sectional view of resilientfloor surface of the present invention, generally at 10. The resilientfloor surface 10 includes a resilient, molded open cell, expanded beadpolypropylene (EPP) underpad 12, which may preferably be provided inhand-portable panel, slab or sheet form.

The EPP material tends to be resilient, i.e., shock-absorbing,non-porous, i.e., waterproof and insulating with respect to both soundand heat transmission.

Depending upon the particular use application and the surface upon whichthe resilient floor surface is to be applied, the EPP underpad 12 may beof any desired thickness. Typical thicknesses for the EPP underpad 12will be from about ⅛-inch to 12 inches (3 mm to 30.5 cm). In mostapplications, however, preferred thicknesses will be from about ½-inchto 4 inches (13 mm to 102 mm).

Panels, slabs or sheets of the EPP underpad 12 may also be provided inany desired dimensions favoring transportation and workability,including a 4-foot by 6-foot (120 cm by 180 cm) configuration, the4-foot by 8-foot (120 cm by 240 cm) configuration common to standardplywood sheets and rolls of desired width, such as 12-feet (3.6 m),16-feet (4.8 m), 20-feet (6.0 m) or 24-feet (7.2 m), by any desiredlength. The expanded beads of polypropylene making up the EPP underpad12 are typically of a density of approximately between about 1.1 to 2.8pounds per cubic foot (0.018 grams per cubic cm to 0.045 grams per cubiccm), and are molded into a sheet or pad of open cell structure with adensity of between about 1.1 to 3.5 pounds per cubic foot (0.018 gramsper cubic cm to 0.056 grams per cubic cm).

The resilient floor surface 10 is also shown to include a surfacecovering 14 disposed atop the EPP underpad 12, for use as a suitablefloor surfacing, sport playing surfacing or decorative surface coating.The surface covering 14 may be of any material desired for theparticular application. Preferred material selections for the surfacecovering 14 include, but are not limited to, hardwood flooring,synthetic rubber and/or plastic flooring tiles and panels, rubberflooring tiles and panels, laminated wood flooring, residential andcommercial carpets, and surface coating including crumb rubber surfacecoating, an EPDM (ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surface coating or apolyurethane surface coating. Preferred thicknesses for the surfacecovering 14 range from about ⅜-inch to 1 inch (9 mm to 2.6 cm), althoughany suitable thickness may be used. In applications where extrashock-absorbence is desired, a thicker surface covering 14 such as anEPDM coating for a playground may be used. The surface covering 14 mayalso be enhanced with any suitable coloring or texture additives toenhance the surface appearance and/or performance.

The resilient floor surface 10 of the present invention may be laid downeasily over any type of ground floor or base or underlying supportsystem including compacted sand, earth, asphalt, concrete slab, woodjoists, plywood, ceramic, terrazo floor and other subsurfaces. It alsois able to hide irregularities in the underlying surface, resulting inconvenient installation. The lightweight construction of the EPPunderpad 12 results in manageable panels, slabs or sheets weighing fromabout 2.5 to 4 pounds (1.1 kg to 1.8 kg) for a 4-foot by 6-foot sheet(120 cm by 180 cm) of 1 inch (2.54 cm) thickness. This may reduce thetime and effort required for installation and may reduce the amount ofsubfloor structure otherwise required to support multiple flooringcomponents of greater weight. The combined properties of resilience orshock-absorbence, sound and heat insulation, moisture barrier and fullwaterproofing make the resilient floor surface 10 a preferred energy,time and cost-saving choice for many flooring applications, includingthose such as over concrete subfloors or directly upon the earth. Thenon-porous nature of the EPP underlay material allows a syntheticcovering of the types described herein to be conveniently directly fixedupon it. The convenience of transportation and installation, combinedwith the above properties, make the resilient floor surface 10 asuitable lower cost replacement having fewer components, less thickness,less weight and improved performance over prior multi-component flooringsystems.

Examples of suitable uses for the resilient floor surface 10 of thepresent invention cover both indoor and outdoor applications includingresidential and commercial flooring surfaces upon the ground and withinmultilevel building structures, rooftop plazas, sports and playgroundspecialty surfaces and decorative or comfort coverings and surfaces. Theinvention especially contemplates this flooring surface for use onsporting surfaces, such as basketball, racquetball, squash, tennis andother game and court surfaces and running tracks, safety playgroundareas for children, pool, sidewalk and other recreational areas, as wellas for general walking surfaces within any building and rooftop plaza orgame surfaces. It is believed that this flooring surface providesgeneral comfort for walking and resilience for safety in sports play.Specifically, the resilience of the floor surface 10 can be adjusted asdesired to provide a high performance in cushioning and shockabsorbence, skeletal and muscular trauma protection, the reduction offatigue-inducing vertical impact shock and energy return for competitivesports play. The cushion properties of the EPP panel provide absorptionof up to 90% of the impact of foot traffic as an anti-fatigue floorsurfacing and could add up to 50% to the lifespan of the coveringmaterial 14 by reducing friction. In addition, the EPP underpad materialhas high resistant and compressive properties, such that it tends not tocompact or break down during its lifetime as do some other flooringcomponents. Upon contact, the EPP underpad material tends to return backto its original shape without permanent deformation. The resilient floorsurface 10 of the present invention is believed to be environmentallyfriendly and recyclable, non-allergenic and non-toxic, meets or exceedsall applicable flammability standards and is resistant to breakdown fromcontact with moisture and most chemicals.

In the method of installing a resilient floor surface 10 of the presentinvention, panels, slabs, sheets or rolls of the EPP underpad 12 arebrought to the installation site. The panels, slabs or sheets arearranged in neighboring fashion, edge-to-edge, with interlocking edge or“key” sections, and may be laid in place in a “suspended” or “floating”manner directly upon the ground or other subfloor support surface. Therolls are also spread in place in a “suspended” or “floating” mannerdirectly upon the ground or other subfloor support surface. They mayalso be cut where needed to any desired custom dimensions for thesurface to be formed, such as at the perimeter of the surface againstwalls or around obstructions. As an advantage over prior flooringsystems, it is not necessary that the EPP underpad 12 be nailed, gluedor otherwise secured to the subfloor or other underlying supportsurface. This aids in later maintenance and removal of the resilientfloor surface 10 for replacement or periodic floor surface switchingwhich can accompany multiple sporting events being held in a singlevenue. The underpad 12 is then covered with a suitable floor surfacing,sport playing surfacing or decorative surface covering 14 of the typesand in the thicknesses mentioned herein by spraying, brushing, spreadingor other suitable application activity. Optionally, such as in areaswhere waterproofing is not an issue, the surface covering 14 may beapplied up to and coinciding with the edges of the panels, slabs orsheets of the underpad 12, so that removable and replaceable panels arecreated for the resilient floor surface 10 as a whole.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE 1

A resilient gymnasium floor surface is installed by providing multiplerolls of a resilient underpad material of 1-inch (24 mm) thickness,formed of expanded polypropylene product (EPP), in 16-foot (4.8 m)width. The rolls are spread directly over the existing concretegymnasium subfloor surface in a floating arrangement and are cut to thedesired gymnasium floor surface size. The edges of the spread underpadmaterial are interlocked with each other to form a continuous resilientunderpad for the entire gymnasium floor. A laminated wood floor coveringmaterial of 1-inch (2.6 cm) thickness, provided in square configuration,is then applied in interlocking manner over the resilient underpad as acovering for the resilient underpad to form the gymnasium playingsurface.

It will be appreciated that this invention may be further developedwithin the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, it is desiredthat the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative ofan operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limitingsense.

1. A resilient floor surface comprising: a resilient underpad formed of expanded polypropylene product (“EPP”) suspended on top of a base surface; and a floor surface covering material, other than synthetic turf, disposed atop the resilient underpad as a covering for the resilient underpad such that the resilient floor surface is composed of two components.
 2. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient underpad formed of expanded polypropylene product (“EPP”) is provided in the form of a plurality of hand-portable panels, assembled in an edge-to-edge arrangement over a desired area of the base surface.
 3. The resilient floor surface of claim 2, wherein the portable panels include an interlocking edge arrangement for securing adjacent panels edges with respect to each other.
 4. The resilient floor surface of claim 2, wherein the resilient underpad is provided in configurations selected from the group consisting of 4-foot by 6-foot (120 cm by 180 cm) and 4-foot by 8-foot (120 cm by 240 cm) configurations.
 5. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the base surface is selected from a group consisting of: ground, other base, and subfloor.
 6. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient underpad comprises a roll in widths selected from the group consisting of 12-feet (3.6 m), 16-feet (4.8 m), 20-feet (6.0 m) and 24-feet (7.2 m).
 7. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient underpad is of a thickness of about ⅛-inch to 12 inches (3 mm to 30.5 cm).
 8. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient underpad is of a thickness of about ½-inch to 4 inches (13 mm to 102 mm).
 9. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient underpad is of a density between 1.1 to 2.8 pounds per cubic foot (0.018 grams per cubic cm to 0.045 grams per cubic cm).
 10. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient underpad is molded into a sheet or pad of open cell structure with a density between 1.1 to 3.5 pounds per cubic foot (0.018 grams per cubic cm to 0.056 grams per cubic cm).
 11. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the floor surface covering material is selected from a group consisting of: (i) floor surfacings, (ii) sport playing surfacings, and (iii) decorative and sports surface coating.
 12. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the floor surface covering material is selected from a group consisting of: (i) hardwood flooring, (ii) rubber, synthetic rubber, or plastic flooring tiles, (iii) rubber, synthetic rubber, or plastic flooring panels, (iv) laminated wood flooring, (v) residential or commercial carpets, (vi) crumb rubber surface coating, (vii) EPDM (ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surface coating, and (viii) polyurethane surface coating.
 13. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the floor surface covering material is of a thickness of about ⅛-inch to 4 inches (3 mm to 102 mm).
 14. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the floor surface covering material is enhanced with a coloring or texture additive to enhance the surface appearance and/or performance of the resilient floor surface.
 15. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient floor surface is suitable for either indoor or outdoor applications.
 16. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient floor surface is suitable for uses selected from a group consisting of: (i) residential and commercial flooring surfaces upon the ground, roof plaza, or within multi-level building structures, (ii) rooftop membrane systems, (iii) sports or playground specialty surfaces, (iv) decorative surfaces, (v) comfort surfaces, (vi) pool, sidewalk or other recreational areas, (vii) general walking surfaces, and (viii) game surfaces.
 17. The resilient floor surface of claim 1, wherein the resilient floor surface is removable and replaceable.
 18. A resilient floor surface comprising: a plurality of hand-portable panels formed of expanded polypropylene product (“EPP”) assembled in an inter-locking edge-to-edge arrangement over a desired area and suspended on a top of a base surface; and a surface covering material, other than synthetic turf, disposed atop the plurality of hand-portable panels as a covering for the plurality of hand-portable panels such that the resilient floor surface is composed of two components .
 19. The resilient floor surface of claim 18, wherein the floor surface covering material is selected from a group consisting of: (i) hardwood flooring, (ii) rubber, synthetic rubber, or plastic flooring tiles, (iii) rubber, synthetic rubber, or plastic flooring panels, (iv) laminated wood flooring, (v) residential or commercial carpets, (vi) crumb rubber surface coating, (vii) EPDM (ethylene-propylene terpolymer) surface coating, and (viii) polyurethane surface coating .
 20. The resilient floor surface of claim 18, wherein the floor surface covering material is applied up to edges of the plurality of hand-portable panels so that removable and replaceable panels for the resilient floor surface are formed. 